SparkNotes: Wuthering Heights: Character List Wuthering Heights Plot Overview Analysis of Major Characters Heathcliff - An orphan brought to live at Wuthering Heights by Mr. Earnshaw, Heathcliff falls into an intense, unbreakable love with Mr. Earnshaw’s daughter Catherine. After Mr. Earnshaw dies, his resentful son Hindley abuses Heathcliff and treats him as a servant. Because of her desire for social prominence, Catherine marries Edgar Linton instead of Heathcliff. Heathcliff’s humiliation and misery prompt him to spend most of the rest of his life seeking revenge on Hindley, his beloved Catherine, and their respective children (Hareton and young Catherine). A powerful, fierce, and often cruel man, Heathcliff acquires a fortune and uses his extraordinary powers of will to acquire both Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, the estate of Edgar Linton. Read an in-depth analysis of Heathcliff. Catherine - The daughter of Mr. Earnshaw and his wife, Catherine falls powerfully in love with Heathcliff, the orphan Mr. Earnshaw brings home from Liverpool. Catherine loves Heathcliff so intensely that she claims they are the same person.

However, her desire for social advancement motivates her to marry Edgar Linton instead. Catherine is free-spirited, beautiful, spoiled, and often arrogant. She is given to fits of temper, and she is torn between her wild passion for Heathcliff and her social ambition. She brings misery to both of the men who love her. Read an in-depth analysis of Catherine. Edgar Linton - Well-bred but rather spoiled as a boy, Edgar Linton grows into a tender, constant, but cowardly man. He is almost the ideal gentleman: Catherine accurately describes him as “handsome,” “pleasant to be with,” “cheerful,” and “rich.” However, this full assortment of gentlemanly characteristics, along with his civilized virtues, proves useless in Edgar’s clashes with his foil, Heathcliff, who gains power over his wife, sister, and daughter. Nelly Dean - Nelly Dean (known formally as Ellen Dean) serves as the chief narrator of Wuthering Heights. A sensible, intelligent, and compassionate woman, she grew up essentially alongside Hindley and Catherine Earnshaw and is deeply involved in the story she tells. She has strong feelings for the characters in her story, and these feelings complicate her narration.

Lockwood - Lockwood’s narration forms a frame around Nelly’s; he serves as an intermediary between Nelly and the reader. A somewhat vain and presumptuous gentleman, he deals very clumsily with the inhabitants of Wuthering Heights. Lockwood comes from a more domesticated region of England, and he finds himself at a loss when he witnesses the strange household’s disregard for the social conventions that have always structured his world. As a narrator, his vanity and unfamiliarity with the story occasionally lead him to misunderstand events. Young Catherine - For clarity’s sake, this SparkNote refers to the daughter of Edgar Linton and the first Catherine as “young Catherine.” The first Catherine begins her life as Catherine Earnshaw and ends it as Catherine Linton; her daughter begins as Catherine Linton and, assuming that she marries Hareton after the end of the story, goes on to become Catherine Earnshaw. The mother and the daughter share not only a name, but also a tendency toward headstrong behavior, impetuousness, and occasional arrogance. However, Edgar’s influence seems to have tempered young Catherine’s character, and she is a gentler and more compassionate creature than her mother.

Hareton Earnshaw - The son of Hindley and Frances Earnshaw, Hareton is Catherine’s nephew. After Hindley’s death, Heathcliff assumes custody of Hareton, and raises him as an uneducated field worker, just as Hindley had done to Heathcliff himself. Thus Heathcliff uses Hareton to seek revenge on Hindley. Illiterate and quick-tempered, Hareton is easily humiliated, but shows a good heart and a deep desire to improve himself. At the end of the novel, he marries young Catherine. Linton Heathcliff - Heathcliff’s son by Isabella. Weak, sniveling, demanding, and constantly ill, Linton is raised in London by his mother and does not meet his father until he is thirteen years old, when he goes to live with him after his mother’s death. Heathcliff despises Linton, treats him contemptuously, and, by forcing him to marry the young Catherine, uses him to cement his control over Thrushcross Grange after Edgar Linton’s death. Linton himself dies not long after this marriage. Hindley Earnshaw - Catherine’s brother, and Mr. Earnshaw’s son.

Hindley resents it when Heathcliff is brought to live at Wuthering Heights. After his father dies and he inherits the estate, Hindley begins to abuse the young Heathcliff, terminating his education and forcing him to work in the fields. When Hindley’s wife Frances dies shortly after giving birth to their son Hareton, he lapses into alcoholism and dissipation. Isabella Linton - Edgar Linton’s sister, who falls in love with Heathcliff and marries him. She sees Heathcliff as a romantic figure, like a character in a novel. Ultimately, she ruins her life by falling in love with him. He never returns her feelings and treats her as a mere tool in his quest for revenge on the Linton family. Mr. Earnshaw - Catherine and Hindley’s father. Mr. Earnshaw adopts Heathcliff and brings him to live at Wuthering Heights. Mr. Earnshaw prefers Heathcliff to Hindley but nevertheless bequeaths Wuthering Heights to Hindley when he dies. Mrs. Earnshaw - Catherine and Hindley’s mother, who neither likes nor trusts the orphan Heathcliff when he is brought to live at her house.

She dies shortly after Heathcliff’s arrival at Wuthering Heights. Joseph - A long-winded, fanatically religious, elderly servant at Wuthering Heights. Joseph is strange, stubborn, and unkind, and he speaks with a thick Yorkshire accent. Frances Earnshaw - Hindley’s simpering, silly wife, who treats Heathcliff cruelly. She dies shortly after giving birth to Hareton. Mr. Linton - Edgar and Isabella’s father and the proprietor of Thrushcross Grange when Heathcliff and Catherine are children. An established member of the gentry, he raises his son and daughter to be well-mannered young people. Mrs. Linton - Mr. Linton’s somewhat snobbish wife, who does not like Heathcliff to be allowed near her children, Edgar and Isabella. She teaches Catherine to act like a gentle-woman, thereby instilling her with social ambitions. Zillah - The housekeeper at Wuthering Heights during the latter stages of the narrative. Mr. Green - Edgar Linton’s lawyer, who arrives too late to hear Edgar’s final instruction to change his will, which would have prevented Heathcliff from obtaining control over Thrushcross Grange.

What is role of marriage in wuthering heights | Wuthering Heights Questions | Q & A | GradeSaver What is role of marriage in wuthering heights Ans. in about 300 words Asked by ubaid s #231937 on 2/22/2012 12:24 PM Last updated by p c #239101 on 3/25/2012 7:26 AM Answered by Aslan on 2/22/2012 12:42 PM The 19th century European concept of marriage as depicted in Wuthering Heights is largely based on social and economic advancement and not, as it is in modern America, a romantic notion. In other words, couples married to either maintain or advance social class or property (land), not because they necessarily loved each other. Most of the characters in Wuthering Heights are members of the gentry (upper middle class), one step lower than the aristocratic class. On the heath, the Lintons are more well off than the Earnshaws. And the Earnshaws are more well off than the orphaned Heathcliff.

So, Catherine Earnshaw marries Edgar Linton to become "the greatest woman in the neighborhood." She moves over from Wuthering Heights to Thrushcross Grange for socio-economic advancement. Even though she loves Heathcliff (the romantic concept of marriage), she marries for a better house and more land. Heathcliff resents the concept of marriage to no end. Even though he turns himself into a member of the landed gentry, he is still forsaken by Catherine and the society. So, he plans revenge on the entire system: he abuses the concept of marriage to acquire both houses (Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange). He arranges marriage between the younger Catherine and Linton as a cruel punishment to this second generation on the heath. His goal, I think, is to destroy the (romantic or economic) institution of marriage by abusing it to its extreme end. Source(s) Answered by jill d #170087 on 2/22/2012 12:43 PM Unlike modern America, the 19th century European concept of marriage was largely based on social and economic advancement. Marriage has no value in the novel Wuthering Heights.

It is a contract, an obligation. Cathy marries for money, Heathcliff marries Isabella so he can inherit her land.... both of these marriages are entered into for financial reasons. Answered by p c #239101 on 3/25/2012 7:26 AM What is the role of marriage in Wuthering Heights? | eNotes What is the role of marriage in Wuthering Heights? Payal Khullar | College Teacher | (Level 2) Associate Educator Posted on July 27, 2013 at 5:17 PM If we talk about marriage, the first thing that comes to the mind is that it is nothing but sheer commitment to a love partner. But in Wuthering Heights, marriage seems to have other roles as well. Catherine Earnshaw is in deep, passionate love with Heathcliff. Even so she doesn’t marry him. She chooses to marry Edgar Linton. With Linton she knows she will get social rise and economic security and this Heathcliff can never give her. Moreover, she intends to help Heathcliff financially in a way by marrying Linton also.

...and if the wicked man in there had not brought Heathcliff so low, I shouldn't have thought of it. It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now... After the death of Mr. Earnshaw, Hindley made Heathcliff’s life very difficult. From an adopted child, he got the status of a servant. This tells us about one crucial aspect of the society. It is that women had no economic freedom at that time and if they wanted to live a good life, marriage with rich men was the only solution. Heathcliff’s marriage to Isabella Linton is even more devastating. He marries her to take revenge against Edgar Linton, Isabella's brother, who married his love Catherine. He doesn’t love Isabella at all and beats her often. She suffers throughout her married life and dies eventually. Heathcliff kidnaps young Cathy and forces her to marry his weak and ill son Linton. This marriage happens because he wants to acquire Edgar’s property, i.e. Thrushcross Grange. Cathy accepts this proposal on his condition to let her see her father before he dies. So, this marriage is fateful as other marriages as Linton dies soon after the marriage.

Marriages between Cathy and Hareton as well as, probably between Hindley and Francis are born out of love. They are an exception and good examples. Thus, the role of marriages in Wuthering Heights is getting social mobility, taking revenge, out of helplessness, or because of mutual love. Sources: June 8, 2012 at 10:11 PM Marriage in Wuthering Heights is a reflection of marriage in England at that time, which is to say marriage was a social and/or economic contract where a prospective bride and groom married in hopes of obtaining more land, wealth, social status and prosperity than they currently possessed. Catherine Earnshaw marries Edgar Linton, her social and economic superior, to obtain the better home, money and land of Thrushcross Grange; this was a decision having nothing to do with love. Catherine actually loved Heathcliff, but wouldn't marry him because he was below her social station.

Heathcliff, in turn, married a young lady named Isabella so that he could inherit her land, and then makes a concerted effort as he grows older to make the younger Catherine and Linton miserable in an arranged marriage, even as he acquires both Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff's semi-lifelong quest to pay society back for the wrongs he believes he has suffered is similar in some ways to Miss Havisham's purposeful wreaking of pain in Charles Dickens's Great Expectations. In Great Expectations, Miss Havisham engages in a lengthy quest to create a hateful, hardened young lady in Estella, figure out a way to make a young man named Pip fall in love with Estella, and then ensure that Pip's heart is broken--the way her heart was broken by her fiance many years before. Sources: January 29, 2012 at 2:32 PM Marriage functions in different ways for different characters in the novel. Nelly’s view of marriage is quite conventional; she sees it as a domestic ideal. For Catherine, a monogamous marriage is more problematic.

Her ideal of Victorian marriage is consummated in her marriage with Edgar Linton; that does not satisfy her passionate sexual desires, but a marriage with Heathcliff would be socially degrading and not satisfy her need for comfort, security, and social position. Thus marriage as it existed in the period does not work out for her. Hareton is civilized by marriage. Edgar’s ideal is quiet domesticity. In general, marriage appears to function well in the novel for the less passionate and more conventional characters, allowing them domestic comfort, but is disrupted by the emergence of visceral passions. If Thrushcross Grange and its domestic ideal is temporarily disrupted by Heathcliff, in the end it is reconstituted by the second Cathy, and thus conventional marriage, ironically, triumphs in the end. Sources: What is the role of marriage in "Wuthering Heights"? | eNotes What is the role of marriage in "Wuthering Heights"?

mstultz72 | High School Teacher | (Level 1) Educator Emeritus Posted on December 1, 2011 at 10:29 PM The 19th century European concept of marriage as depicted in Wuthering Heights is largely based on social and economic advancement and not, as it is in modern America, a romantic notion. In other words, couples married to either maintain or advance social class or property (land), not because they necessarily loved each other. Most of the characters in Wuthering Heights are members of the gentry (upper middle class), one step lower than the aristocratic class. On the heath, the Lintons are more well off than the Earnshaws. And the Earnshaws are more well off than the orphaned Heathcliff. So, Catherine Earnshaw marries Edgar Linton to become "the greatest woman in the neighborhood." She moves over from Wuthering Heights to Thrushcross Grange for socio-economic advancement. Even though she loves Heathcliff (the romantic concept of marriage), she marries for a better house and more land. Heathcliff resents the concept of marriage to no end.

Even though he turns himself into a member of the landed gentry, he is still forsaken by Catherine and the society. So, he plans revenge on the entire system: he abuses the concept of marriage to acquire both houses (Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange). He arranges marriage between the younger Catherine and Linton as a cruel punishment to this second generation on the heath. His goal, I think, is to destroy the (romantic or economic) institution of marriage by abusing it to its extreme end. Sources: March 28, 2012 at 11:45 PM Marriage has played a vital role in Wuthering Heights. Throughout the novel, it has been observed that various characters have used it in a different manner to achieve their goals. Marriage has the following functions in Wuthering Heights: 1. It has been used as a tool by Heathclif to get access to the property of Linton family. He knows that Edgar Linton has no children. He has only his sister, named Isabella, and she will be the legal heir to the property of Edgar Linton.

That is why; he traps Isabella into his love and marries her so as to acquire the property of Thrush Cross Grange. 2. It has also been used as a power tool by Catherin to acquire social status in society. In the novel, we see that Catherin has a desire to become a sociable and an amiable lady. During her stay at Thrush Cross Grange, she is so impressed by the etiquettes and mannerism of the Linton family that when she returns her home, she is an absolutely a changed lady. She wants to marry Edgar as he can provide her with all that she wants. 3. It has also been used as a means by Heathclif to get revenge upon his rival i.e., Edgar Linton who married her beloved. He wants to get vengeance upon him for his harsh treatment at Thrush Cross Grange. 4. At the end of the novel, marriage again serves as a bond between two souls. It brings together Cathy and Hareton forever. like 1 dislike 0 Wuthering Heights | Emily Brontë | Lit2Go ETC Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë Wuthering Heights is Emily Brontë’s only novel.

The story is told in layers, a format that has earned the novel much praise despite initial mixed reviews. It is the story of Catherine and Heathcliff and how their unresolved passion eventually destroys them both. Source: Brontë, E. (1847). Wuthering Heights. London: TC Newby. Chapter 2 When Mr. Lockwood returns for a second visit to Wuthering Heights, he gets stranded there due to a snowstorm. As he tries to leave the property without a guide he borrows Joseph's lantern, and is then stopped and pinned down by Mr. Heathcliff's dogs, forcing him to stay the night. Chapter 7 Catherine returns to Wuthering Heights after a five week transformation from wild girl to young lady, all Mrs. Linton's work. Upon her return, Heathcliff is upset at her changes in appearance and attitude. The Linton's are invited to dinner by Hindley, and Heathcliff is forbidden to join them. Chapter 8 Frances gives birth to Hareton, and then dies a week later. Hindley is extremely upset over the death of his wife and drives all of the servants away, except for Nelly and Joseph.

Catherine shows her wild side to Edgar Linton. Chapter 9 In a fit of rage Hindley throws Hareton over the balcony, fortunately Heathcliff is there to catch him. Catherine agrees to marry Edgar and tells Nelly, Heathcliff overhears their conversation and leaves Wuthering Heights for three years. Upset when Heathcliff leaves Catherine waits out in the rain for him, catches a fever, and almost dies; during her recovery Mr. and Mrs. Linton catch her fever and they both die. Catherine and Edgar marry three years after their death, and Nelly moves to Thrushcross Grange with them. Chapter 17 Hindley gets drunk at Catherine's funeral and tells Isabella that he is going to kill Heathcliff. When Isabella tells Heathcliff this information he breaks into the house and beats Hindley. Hindley dies six months later leaving deep debt, and the mortgage in Heathcliff's possession. Isabella leaves for London, and has a son Linton. Nelly returns to Wuthering Heights to sort out funeral arrangements and to check on Hareton; Heathcliff refuses to allow Hareton near Nelly.

Chapter 18 Isabella writes to Edgar to tell him of her impending death, and asks him to come and get Linton to take him back to the Grange. Nelly watches over Cathy while he is gone, and Cathy finds her way to Wuthering Heights while playing one day. Nelly and Cathy decide to keep her visit to Wuthering Heights from Edgar. Chapter 19 Edgar hopes that Heathcliff will allow Linton to live at the Grange. Joseph visits the Grange to pick up Linton to bring him back to Wuthering Heights; Edgar does not want to wake him and promises to deliver Linton to Heathcliff in the morning. Chapter 21 Three years later Nelly and Cathy visit Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff wishes Linton and Cathy to fall in love and marry. After Edgar finds out about their visit he forbids Cathy have any contact with Linton, which drives her to begin writing secret letters to him. Nelly finds Linton's letters to Cathy, destroys them, and does not tell Edgar. Chapter 22 Cathy nurses her father during the winter, she believes he is dying.

Then, Cathy speaks to Heathcliff, who tells her Linton is sick because she cut off communication with him. The next day Nelly and Cathy leave to visit Wuthering Heights. Chapter 28 Nelly returns to the Grange after she is freed by Zillah to assure Edgar that Cathy is safe. She sends servants to bring Cathy back to the Grange, they come back empty handed. Cathy finally escapes with the help of Linton, and is reunited with Edgar right before he dies. Chapter 29 Heathcliff forces Cathy to live and work at Wuthering Heights, and not to stay at the Grange; Cathy speaks out against Heathcliff. After Heathcliff confides in Nelly that he believes in ghosts, particularly the ghost of Catherine, he tells Nelly never to visit Wuthering Heights again. Wuthering Heights Summary Wuthering Heights Summary Wuthering Heights en Español How It All Goes Down In the winter of 1801, our narrator, Lockwood, shows up at Wuthering Heights to make arrangements with Heathcliff to rent the nearby manor, Thrushcross Grange.

(These names are insane, we know.) Heathcliff, the landlord, makes no effort to be pleasant (read: he's a Gloomy Gus) and immediately becomes a source of deep curiosity to Lockwood. A snowstorm forces Lockwood to spend the night at Wuthering Heights, and he has crazy nightmares complete with a wailing ghost named Catherine Linton trying to come through the window. Cheery! Settled into his new house, Lockwood invites the housekeeper, Ellen "Nelly" Dean, to tell the story of the curious inhabitants of Wuthering Heights. Nelly is all too happy to recount the dark tale of the Earnshaws, the Lintons, and, mostly, Heathcliff. We jump into the past as Nelly recounts the story. Nelly starts to work for the Earnshaws as a young girl. Everything is fine until Mr. Earnshaw takes a trip to Liverpool and returns with a swarthy little orphan child named Heathcliff. Though Earnshaw's daughter, Catherine, takes to the boy after only some initial aversion, the son, Hindley, resents his father's favoritism of the strange, mannerless boy.

Soon Catherine and Heathcliff are inseparable, but Hindley's bitterness has only grown, so he goes off to college. Catherine and Heathcliff briefly enjoy a sort of idyllic, adventurous childhood out on the stormy moors and snuggling in the oak-paneled bed. When Mr. Earnshaw dies, Hindley returns from college, with his new wife Frances, to claim his place as master of Wuthering Heights. College hasn't altered Hindley's feelings toward Heathcliff, so he decides to make life miserable for his adopted brother by treating him like a servant. With Hindley acting the tyrant, Catherine provides Heathcliff's only solace. They remain allies and friends. One night Heathcliff and Catherine ramble down to Thrushcross Grange to spy on the Linton children, Edgar and Isabella, who live a pampered and protected existence. When a dog bites Catherine, she is forced to stay at the Grange for five weeks to recuperate. While there, she captures the affections of young Edgar. Back at Wuthering Heights, life without Catherine has been miserable for Heathcliff, but with Edgar in the picture things will never be the same.

Frances dies after giving birth to a son, Hareton. Without his wife to help tone down his rage, Hindley becomes even more vengeful toward Heathcliff. Hindley resents his new son, and he becomes an abusive alcoholic. His primary activity is making life miserable for Heathcliff and, as a consequence, for everyone else in the house. Though Catherine confesses to Nelly an all-consuming love for Heathcliff, she still marries Edgar. (Even out on the isolated moors, social class dictates whom you marry.) Heathcliff takes off for three years to who knows where. When he returns, Heathcliff finds Catherine and Edgar married and living at Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff is now on a mission of revenge against Hindley, who is in even worse shape than before. Loaded with a bunch of money gained during his mysterious absence, Heathcliff sets into motion his master plan to acquire Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff exploits the fact that Hindley is a drunken mess and engages him in extended bouts of gambling that eventually lead Hindley to mortgage Wuthering Heights to pay his debts. The house now belongs to Heathcliff.

Heathcliff continues to visit Catherine at Thrushcross Grange, though her husband Edgar treats him like a low-born outsider. In order to acquire Edgar's property, Heathcliff marries Isabella Linton, who brings out all of his abusive instincts. A violent argument between Edgar and Heathcliff sends Catherine to the sickbed, from which she never really recovers. She does, however, give birth to a daughter, also named Catherine. When Catherine dies, Heathcliff's sorrow and rage increase and he pleads for Catherine's ghost to haunt him. Unable to take his abusiveness any longer, Isabella flees for London, where she gives birth to a son, Linton Heathcliff. For the next thirteen years, Nelly Dean stays at Thrushcross Grange to raise Catherine, a feisty daddy's girl. Edgar and Nelly make sure that Catherine knows nothing of Wuthering Heights or its master. But, like her mother, Catherine is drawn to adventure and wants to explore the moors and all of its craggy, windswept spots. When Nelly forbids her to leave the property of Thrushcross Grange, Catherine goes off on her own.

She ends up at Wuthering Heights, where she meets Hindley's son Hareton. Heathcliff's despicable treatment of the young man has turned Hareton into a grunting, uneducated oaf. Still, Catherine is happy to have some companionship. When Isabella dies, Edgar retrieves his fragile, dismal nephew Linton and brings him back to live with them at Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff has other plans, and demands that his son live with him, though Linton did not even know his father existed. The contrast between Linton and Hareton is stark, but Heathcliff can't stand either of them. Eventually young Catherine encounters Heathcliff on the moors and ventures to Wuthering Heights, where she meets Linton, whom she only vaguely remembers. She and Linton begin a secret correspondence of love letters sent via the milk-fetcher. When Edgar and Nelly become sick and bedbound, Catherine begins to sneak up to Wuthering Heights to visit Linton. The miserable and suffering Linton becomes a tool of his father's plot for revenge—marrying Catherine would ensure that Linton inherits Thrushcross Grange.

At a prearranged meeting between Catherine and Linton, Heathcliff lures Nelly and Catherine back to Wuthering Heights, where he imprisons them and forces Catherine to marry Linton. Soon after, Edgar dies and so does the sickly, young Linton. Heathcliff is now master of both Wuthering Height and Thrushcross Grange. He keeps his widowed daughter-in-law with him at Wuthering Heights so that she can work for him as a common servant. He rents out Thrushcross Grange to Lockwood. Nelly's story is now complete. Lockwood's fascination with Heathcliff has turned to disgust and he gives notice to Heathcliff that he will be leaving Thrushcross Grange to return to London. Six months later, however, he is back in the neighborhood and visits Nelly, who gives him an update on the dramatic tale. Despite her initial rejection of Hareton as an illiterate boor, Catherine warms to him and begins teaching him how to read. Heathcliff finds himself too obsessed with the dead Catherine to even care about the younger generation or even to bother eating or sleeping.

Instead of continuing his cycle of abuse and revenge, he wanders the moors, stares into the middle distance, and makes broken-hearted appeals to Catherine's ghost. Heathcliff dies in the oak-paneled bed, a water-logged, grimacing stiff. Hareton and Catherine inherit the two houses. They plan to marry on New Year's day and have created a new atmosphere of renewal and hope. Lockwood leaves the happy lovers and passes by the gravestones of Catherine, Heathcliff, and Edgar. Heathcliff's grave plot is fresh and not yet covered with grass. SparkNotes: Wuthering Heights: Plot Overview Wuthering Heights Context Character List In the late winter months of 1801, a man named Lockwood rents a manor house called Thrushcross Grange in the isolated moor country of England. Here, he meets his dour landlord, Heathcliff, a wealthy man who lives in the ancient manor of Wuthering Heights, four miles away from the Grange. In this wild, stormy countryside, Lockwood asks his housekeeper, Nelly Dean, to tell him the story of Heathcliff and the strange denizens of Wuthering Heights.

Nelly consents, and Lockwood writes down his recollections of her tale in his diary; these written recollections form the main part of Wuthering Heights. Nelly remembers her childhood. As a young girl, she works as a servant at Wuthering Heights for the owner of the manor, Mr. Earnshaw, and his family. One day, Mr. Earnshaw goes to Liverpool and returns home with an orphan boy whom he will raise with his own children. At first, the Earnshaw children—a boy named Hindley and his younger sister Catherine—detest the dark-skinned Heathcliff. But Catherine quickly comes to love him, and the two soon grow inseparable, spending their days playing on the moors. After his wife’s death, Mr. Earnshaw grows to prefer Heathcliff to his own son, and when Hindley continues his cruelty to Heathcliff, Mr. Earnshaw sends Hindley away to college, keeping Heathcliff nearby. Three years later, Mr. Earnshaw dies, and Hindley inherits Wuthering Heights. He returns with a wife, Frances, and immediately seeks revenge on Heathcliff.

Once an orphan, later a pampered and favored son, Heathcliff now finds himself treated as a common laborer, forced to work in the fields. Heathcliff continues his close relationship with Catherine, however. One night they wander to Thrushcross Grange, hoping to tease Edgar and Isabella Linton, the cowardly, snobbish children who live there. Catherine is bitten by a dog and is forced to stay at the Grange to recuperate for five weeks, during which time Mrs. Linton works to make her a proper young lady. By the time Catherine returns, she has become infatuated with Edgar, and her relationship with Heathcliff grows more complicated. When Frances dies after giving birth to a baby boy named Hareton, Hindley descends into the depths of alcoholism, and behaves even more cruelly and abusively toward Heathcliff. Eventually, Catherine’s desire for social advancement prompts her to become engaged to Edgar Linton, despite her overpowering love for Heathcliff. Heathcliff runs away from Wuthering Heights, staying away for three years, and returning shortly after Catherine and Edgar’s marriage.

When Heathcliff returns, he immediately sets about seeking revenge on all who have wronged him. Having come into a vast and mysterious wealth, he deviously lends money to the drunken Hindley, knowing that Hindley will increase his debts and fall into deeper despondency. When Hindley dies, Heathcliff inherits the manor. He also places himself in line to inherit Thrushcross Grange by marrying Isabella Linton, whom he treats very cruelly. Catherine becomes ill, gives birth to a daughter, and dies. Heathcliff begs her spirit to remain on Earth—she may take whatever form she will, she may haunt him, drive him mad—just as long as she does not leave him alone. Shortly thereafter, Isabella flees to London and gives birth to Heathcliff’s son, named Linton after her family. She keeps the boy with her there. Thirteen years pass, during which Nelly Dean serves as Catherine’s daughter’s nursemaid at Thrushcross Grange. Young Catherine is beautiful and headstrong like her mother, but her temperament is modified by her father’s gentler influence.

Young Catherine grows up at the Grange with no knowledge of Wuthering Heights; one day, however, wandering through the moors, she discovers the manor, meets Hareton, and plays together with him. Soon afterwards, Isabella dies, and Linton comes to live with Heathcliff. Heathcliff treats his sickly, whining son even more cruelly than he treated the boy’s mother. Three years later, Catherine meets Heathcliff on the moors, and makes a visit to Wuthering Heights to meet Linton. She and Linton begin a secret romance conducted entirely through letters. When Nelly destroys Catherine’s collection of letters, the girl begins sneaking out at night to spend time with her frail young lover, who asks her to come back and nurse him back to health. However, it quickly becomes apparent that Linton is pursuing Catherine only because Heathcliff is forcing him to; Heathcliff hopes that if Catherine marries Linton, his legal claim upon Thrushcross Grange—and his revenge upon Edgar Linton—will be complete.

One day, as Edgar Linton grows ill and nears death, Heathcliff lures Nelly and Catherine back to Wuthering Heights, and holds them prisoner until Catherine marries Linton. Soon after the marriage, Edgar dies, and his death is quickly followed by the death of the sickly Linton. Heathcliff now controls both Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. He forces Catherine to live at Wuthering Heights and act as a common servant, while he rents Thrushcross Grange to Lockwood. Nelly’s story ends as she reaches the present. Lockwood, appalled, ends his tenancy at Thrushcross Grange and returns to London. However, six months later, he pays a visit to Nelly, and learns of further developments in the story. Although Catherine originally mocked Hareton’s ignorance and illiteracy (in an act of retribution, Heathcliff ended Hareton’s education after Hindley died), Catherine grows to love Hareton as they live together at Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff becomes more and more obsessed with the memory of the elder Catherine, to the extent that he begins speaking to her ghost. Everything he sees reminds him of her.

Shortly after a night spent walking on the moors, Heathcliff dies. Hareton and young Catherine inherit Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, and they plan to be married on the next New Year’s Day. After hearing the end of the story, Lockwood goes to visit the graves of Catherine and Heathcliff. Chronology The story of Wuthering Heights is told through flashbacks recorded in diary entries, and events are often presented out of chronological order—Lockwood’s narrative takes place after Nelly’s narrative, for instance, but is interspersed with Nelly’s story in his journal. Nevertheless, the novel contains enough clues to enable an approximate reconstruction of its chronology, which was elaborately designed by Emily Brontë. For instance, Lockwood’s diary entries are recorded in the late months of 1801 and in September 1802; in 1801, Nelly tells Lockwood that she has lived at Thrushcross Grange for eighteen years, since Catherine’s marriage to Edgar, which must then have occurred in 1783.

We know that Catherine was engaged to Edgar for three years, and that Nelly was twenty-two when they were engaged, so the engagement must have taken place in 1780, and Nelly must have been born in 1758. Since Nelly is a few years older than Catherine, and since Lockwood comments that Heathcliff is about forty years old in 1801, it stands to reason that Heathcliff and Catherine were born around 1761, three years after Nelly. There are several other clues like this in the novel (such as Hareton’s birth, which occurs in June, 1778). The following chronology is based on those clues, and should closely approximate the timing of the novel’s important events. A “~” before a date indicates that it cannot be precisely determined from the evidence in the novel, but only closely estimated. 1500 - The stone above the front door of Wuthering Heights, bearing the name of Hareton Earnshaw, is inscribed, possibly to mark the completion of the house. 1758 - Nelly is born. ~1761 - Heathcliff and Catherine are born.

~1767 - Mr. Earnshaw brings Heathcliff to live at Wuthering Heights. 1774 - Mr. Earnshaw sends Hindley away to college. 1777 - Mr. Earnshaw dies; Hindley and Frances take possession of Wuthering Heights; Catherine first visits Thrushcross Grange around Christmastime. 1778 - Hareton is born in June; Frances dies; Hindley begins his slide into alcoholism. 1780 - Catherine becomes engaged to Edgar Linton; Heathcliff leaves Wuthering Heights. 1783 - Catherine and Edgar are married; Heathcliff arrives at Thrushcross Grange in September. 1784 - Heathcliff and Isabella elope in the early part of the year; Catherine becomes ill with brain fever; young Catherine is born late in the year; Catherine dies. 1785 - Early in the year, Isabella flees Wuthering Heights and settles in London; Linton is born. ~1785 - Hindley dies; Heathcliff inherits Wuthering Heights.

~1797 - Young Catherine meets Hareton and visits Wuthering Heights for the first time; Linton comes from London after Isabella dies (in late 1797 or early 1798). 1800 - Young Catherine stages her romance with Linton in the winter. 1801 - Early in the year, young Catherine is imprisoned by Heathcliff and forced to marry Linton; Edgar Linton dies; Linton dies; Heathcliff assumes control of Thrushcross Grange. Late in the year, Lockwood rents the Grange from Heathcliff and begins his tenancy. In a winter storm, Lockwood takes ill and begins conversing with Nelly Dean. 1801–1802 - During the winter, Nelly narrates her story for Lockwood. 1802 - In spring, Lockwood returns to London; Catherine and Hareton fall in love; Heathcliff dies; Lockwood returns in September and hears the end of the story from Nelly. 1803 - On New Year’s Day, young Catherine and Hareton plan to be married.

Question: What is the married surname of Catherine in Wuthering Heights?
Answer: LINTON